Healing (And The Love It Takes)
by Cordelia Rose
Summary: After the incident with the Governor, Maggie hadn't wanted to be touched by anyone. It takes her a while to make herself believe that she's not going to get hurt again, and that Glenn loves her way too much to not protect her.
Okay before you read, three things:

1\. There's a bit where Maggie is like "oh I'm being stupid I shouldn't be so upset about this" – just wanted to say, I don't personally hold that opinion, but I feel like that's how Maggie would be talking herself through the situation. I personally wouldn't recover from something like that for a long time and as such I feel like Maggie did extremely well to overcome everything.

2\. Also I spent five minutes laughing to myself because I used the word "grime" for "dirt" and found it inexplicably hilarious

3\. These were meant to be like snapshots of their life and recovery etc. but they kind of go down in length towards the end which wasn't intentional so just try to ignore it

* * *

After the Governor, Maggie hadn't wanted to be touched. It felt dirty whenever somebody even brushed her shoulder. The only person she could stand to even get close to her was Glenn, and he still couldn't do much more then hug her, and she had to initiate that.

He took it so well, and she alternated between feeling bad for him and wanting to let him give her the affection she could tell he so badly wanted to, and purposely avoiding him so she didn't have to see the gentle understanding in his eyes when she flinched at sudden movements.

It was over a month later when Maggie had a late night watch to herself. Glenn usually accompanied her, but he'd gone on a run with Daryl that day so he had gone straight to bed, after making sure she'd be okay doing the watch by herself. She scolded herself for being annoyed with him for taking care of her.

She stared out at the dark sky, navy with bright dots sprinkled around, and for the first time in a long time she just thought about what had happened, and allowed herself to process it. Her father had always said that just realising things was therapeutic, but she hadn't expected too much from it.

When Carol came up to take over watch, so careful not to get too near him, she had come to three conclusions: firstly, the reason she hadn't wanted anyone to touch her was because she was scared they would hurt her, or coerce her into something; secondly, she had been most scared of this around Glenn; and thirdly, she had been most scared about Glenn doing it because deep down she knew he wouldn't.

It didn't really make much sense when she worded it like that, but the truth was, that if Glenn ever did hurt her, she had no idea how to cope because the very concept of it was so alien to her. If Glenn ever so much as touched her when she didn't want to – and this past month was proof that he wouldn't – it would be the worst betrayal she had ever experienced.

She walked back to the prison in silence, eyebrows furrowed together. She had to rationalise the thought: Glenn wouldn't hurt her. He was nice to her, gentle, soothing, but firmly protective at the same time. Those traits didn't exactly scream 'danger' at her. She really was overreacting to the entire situation.

She paused just inside the cell block, putting her gun on the table and taking a quick drink, splashing some cool water on her face to wipe off some of the grime. Taking a few moments to steady herself, she pulled her hair free of its tie and shook it a few times.

Glenn was curled up on one side of their bed, and her heart swelled a little again. He usually slept in a starfish pose, arms and legs everywhere. She always complained about it to him, but in reality she liked having his arms thrown over her, made it feel like he was keeping her safe even in his sleep. He had changed recently, even changed an intrinsic part of his personality to let her recover.

It was warm inside; the small windows didn't let much of the heat out, and the dark concrete walls sealed heat inside the prison like they were living inside a kiln. She stripped off her T-shirt and jeans, folding them up and placing them inside a drawer with the rest of her stuff. She hesitated as she reached round to take off her bra; after a few minutes of deliberation, she left it on. She knew that Glenn wouldn't do anything without her express permission, but she would feel far too naked like that – besides which, what if someone came to wake them up the next morning without knocking? She knew how forgetful (read: nosey) the rest of their group was.

"Hey, Glenn," she whispered, kneeling on the mattress. She could just slide in next to him, but she wanted him to consciously hold her that night, not just because she had come in after he was already asleep. "Glenn, wake up."

He opened one eye at her blearily, the other one hidden in the small nest he'd made with his arms. He smiled at her, sitting up. "Everything alright?" he asked, automatically reaching out for her, but stopping himself after a couple of seconds.

She grinned back at him, both at how cute he looked with his hair ruffled from sleep and how kind he was. "Everything's great," she whispered, and lay down with her back towards him, shuffling until her hips met his. "I'm sorry."

After a moment's hesitation, his arm came over her stomach and her hair fluttered with a soft kiss to her scalp. "Nothing to be sorry for," he murmured back, nosing at the shell of her ear. "Just glad you're feeling okay again."

Maggie smiled. "More than okay."

Even Daryl had noticed the change in her character over the past week; he had never gone near her to begin with, always maintaining a safe distance from everyone and preferring to grunt rather than show affection, but one morning he stopped her and, staring down at his crossbow, grumbled something along the lines of "glad you feel better".

She could have laughed out loud at how obviously uncomfortable he was, but instead she just laid a hand on his shoulder, slowly and carefully, noting how he barely flinched now, and said, "Thanks."

"Be able to take Glenn out on runs again." He snorted. "So damn distracted last time that he almost walked straight into a building without checking it for walkers first."

Maggie frowned. "He was distracted because of me?"

Daryl looked up then, squinting at her, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Known Glenn since day one of this shit. Know him well by now. Korea loves you, more than you think. Think you might just be the only thing he cares about anymore." That was apparently enough emotional display for one day, and he practically sprinted away from her.

Maggie watched him go, a small smile tugging at her lips, and then carried on her way to grab breakfast. Glenn was already there, talking to Rick about something, and absent-mindedly playing with Judith as she grabbed at his fingers with a chubby hand. She grinned like an idiot at the sight and didn't notice Beth coming up to her with a bowl of lumpy porridge until her sister swatted her on the arm.

Glenn was flipping through a book in their room, studiously reading the words on one page before skipping several ahead and settling on it again. "'S about babies," he said when Maggie flopped down onto the mattress next to him. "All my sisters were older than me. Thought I should try to figure out how to look after Judith."

"You're doing fine already." She shuffled back and dropped her head onto his lap, sighing when he set the book aside in favour of playing with her hair, her eyes drifting closed. "Not just with Judy."

"Eh, well, what can I say? I'm just an amazing man." He tugged lightly on her hair when she scoffed, then began plaiting a small strand of it messily. "I love you, Mags. Really."

She smiled. "I know." She didn't have to open her eyes when she said it back to know that he was beaming down at her. What she had done to deserve Glenn, she had no idea.

Glenn was taking his time, trailing down her body with languid, open-mouthed kisses, sucking, nipping or licking at every inch of her skin. He paid extra attention to the small cluster of moles above the canal of her breasts, and kissed the pale stretch-marks on her inner thighs for what seemed like hours.

"You still okay?" he asked, lifting his head up after he finished sucking a series of bruises into her hipbone.

Maggie had clamped her mouth shut to keep quiet, out of consideration for their neighbours, so she just nodded vigorously and hoped that would do.

"Tell me if you're not," he added, before dipping down again and nuzzling at her neck. God, he'd missed this. Don't get him wrong, it wasn't just sex that Glenn enjoyed with Maggie, but it was definitely up there as one of his favourite things, and it was especially good when they had time and he could make her quiver with pleasure, like now.

"Glenn, please – ah!" She wove her hands into his hair as he nibbled at her jugular softly. She was so close to her climax after such torturous teasing but he knew exactly how to just hold her off from getting there.

He hummed as he pressed one final kiss to her neck and then tangled his tongue with hers, kissing her deeply before he eventually put his mouth to use on her breasts and brought her over the edge, continuing until she was slick between her legs again.

He entered her after her third orgasm, fumbling with the condom and waiting for her to adjust as he pushed in gently, making her whine. She was covered in sweat from his ministrations and Glenn was out of breath, but he still kissed her like she was the most important thing on earth –because she was to him - as he began to move.

Her whimpers were muffled against his lips and his shoulder and his neck and his collar-bone as he gasped and moaned, his hands skimming down her figure as he finally got to make love to her again.

Glenn was already worked up from spending so long on her, and from the month-long absence (so different to their usual custom of doing something whenever they possibly could), and he was only human, so it wasn't a massive shock to either of them when he stilled, panting out, "Maggie – I'm close."

She wrapped her legs around his waist so he could go just that bit deeper, and kissed him, muttering encouragement against his lips until and as he throbbed inside of her. The sensation, combined with his thumb lightly circling her clit, pushed her over the edge and she was embarrassed to find a tear running from her eye.

"No, no, it was good," she insisted, when the tears became full-out sobbing and she could tell by Glenn's expression that he thought he'd done something terribly wrong. She'd forgotten how good he made her feel.

Daryl was rooting around in a safe, pulling out odd bits and bobs and shoving them into his backpack. Glenn was in another aisle of the small general store, checking out some cans, so Maggie took the opportunity to wander over to the condoms, shoving a few boxes into an extra bag she had brought for that reason.

She also found some glow in the dark ones, and threw them in for a laugh.

What she hadn't anticipated was how much joy Glenn got out of them and how he always took an extra minute to search for some on every run.

Daryl threw an arrow at Glenn over the fire, though with the blunt side towards them, and with no real force. "You two lovebirds are makin' me sick," he growled, though there was only affection in his tone.

Maggie flipped him off and snuggled into Glenn even more obviously than before. Hershel admonished her for swearing, Rick tried in vain to cover Carl's eyes, and Beth started serving up with a clatter of dishes.

"I love it," Maggie laughed, carefully adjusting the small crown of daisies on her hair. "When did you learn to do this?"

Glenn grinned at her dopily. She was stretched out on the grass next to him, propped up by her elbows, while he sat cross-legged with another load of flowers in his lap. "My parents were busy with work and stuff," he answered, punching a hole in a stem with his thumbnail. "So my sisters pretty much brought me up." He shrugged. "I remember when I was five, they took me out for a picnic with our dog, but they forgot the food, so we just sat around making daisy chains for three hours instead."

"Do you miss them?"

"Course. But I've got you now." He leant down and kissed her gently, flipping Carl off when he wolf-whistled from the tower.

Glenn, as it turned out, really couldn't take his alcohol. He had refused any at first, glaring especially at Daryl and muttering something about "damn wine at the CDC" which made Rick and Carol laugh raucously, and everyone else stare at them in confusion.

He finally started when Maggie pleaded with him, consuming two beers and a shot of tequila along with her, and he was far more wasted than she was after an hour. He collapsed forwards onto his knees, grumbling when Maggie tried to get him to sit up, and when she finally gave up and chatted to the others he fell backwards off the bench and lay on the floor, blinking up at the ceiling. "Ow," he said, as an afterthought.

Maggie joined him, albeit in a gentler manner. "Nice one," she whispered, turning her head to look at him. He did the same.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't patronize me," he muttered. "I am a hardened criminal." He huffed at her laugh.

"How are you a hardened criminal?"

"I used to steal cars."

"No you didn't."

"Yep. Just ask Rick; I hotwired a car back in Atlanta."

Maggie snorted and shuffled closer to her husband, resting her head on his chest. She would ask that question later, when she would remember the answer.

Glenn had gone back to his starfish sleeping when she got back from watch. He woke up briefly, tugged her naked form against his, kissed her cheek, and drifted back off to sleep again.

She joined him, her cheeks aching from the smile he put on her face. She really loved that man.

* * *

wow. terrible.  
i have my first AS exam in 6 days and i'm writing terrible gleggie fics.  
wow.


End file.
